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Friday, April 11, 2014

This is a very lengthy review, and I apologize in advance! If you would like to read it all, I commend you! If you don't want to read it, I don't blame you either =). At the end of the post, I placed an "overall thoughts" that sums up everything written below. I want you know every aspect possible about this tanner before you make a decision if you want to purchase it or not.

It is time again for our summer goddess skin to come out from the winter months! Coming out of the winter, I am pretty pasty white, even though I live in Florida (confession time! You would think I would be a summer goddess all year round, but nope!) I actually try to avoid the sun often since I have fair skin. I don't want to harm it by being out to long. Obviously there is sunscreen to use, but honestly, who reapplies it when you are having fun out in the water!

Back to my point, I would prefer to have a sunless self tanner, as tanning beds are very harmful as well. And no one wants to look like an oompa loompa from the tanning sprays at tanning salons. Enter Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Face and Body Self Tanner (why does Tarte continue to torture us with such long names!). I've only used two other drugstore tanning products prior to this, which I didn't enjoy, so I am still new to tanning!

Tarte's Brazilliance Self Tanner is infused with maracuja oil, which is known to replenish, rebuild, and brighten the skin's appearance. It is said to leave a gorgeous perfectly-hued bronze color that is never fake or orange. According to studies that Tarte did, 97% of customers reported no "tell-tale after-scent". It retails for $37 which includes 5.5 oz of product and their Tan Applicator Mitt. A great aspect to this bronzer is that it has an indicator where you can see where you have applied to the skin. Some people may not like this, but I actually prefer it in a tanner as it makes it easier for me to see where I need to apply if I missed a spot.

How To Use:

1. Obviously, you must exfoliate to get your skin nice and smooth and prepped for the tanner.

2. Make sure your skin is dry prior to use.

3. If after exfoliating you feel that your knees, ankles, and elbows are too dry, use a little bit of lotion to smooth it over.

4. Dispense at least a quarter-sized amount onto the provided mitt and apply to one body part at a time, using long even strokes.

5. Let the self tanner dry for at least 10 minutes before dressing yourself up. Wait at least 8 hours before showering, sweating, and shaving to allow the tanner to fully develop. After the 8 hours, if you would like, shower to reveal your sunkissed glow.

My Thoughts

I found Brazilliance to be a pretty good self tanner. I've used it a multiple of times and still have plenty of product left. The product looks and feels like a brown gel and glides over skin pretty well. The indicator is an excellent guide as to where the product was applied and it turns pretty dark as it is developing.

I love the concept of the mitt because it prevents my hands from staining. I have applied it once with my bare hands and my palms stained to an orange color. Not cute. The only gripe I have about the mitt is that it absorbs so much product while applying to the skin. If you press really hard and rub it into your skin, MAYBE some will get onto you, but its not likely. So right there is a waste of some product. Interestingly enough, I got the best color payoff when I used my hands to apply the tanner. It becomes more concentrated since you are using up all of the product.

As far as the color goes, the tanner devlops into an even, streak free, nice dark bronze color that looks natural. However, after at least 8 hours when I showered, majority of that color was from the indicator was washed off, so you are left with a natural color, but not as intense as the indicator. I was a little disappointed about that, but its also good that it starts of mild and can be built up so you don't end up looking fake with one application. One thing I have to note is to make sure you blend and apply to hands and feet evenly! I cannot stress this enough because you will see the demarkation line and at that moment, the self tanned bronzy glow you thought you had, ends up looking yellow/orange. So please, blend! Something I really enjoyed was that the tan faded gradually, which is very nice.

I found it pretty hard to believe that "97%" of people reported no self tanner scent. I don't know if its just my body chemistry or not, but I did smell a bit of the self-tanner. Sure its not as intense as other tanning products, but it is slightly noticeable to me at least.

To maintain the color, Tarte recommends to reapply 1-2x a week. If you are trying to build up the color, try to apply every other day if you have time to do it.

The photos below are taken after one application, after the eight hours and after showering:

Without Flash L-R: Before and After

Without flash and in person, you are able to note a significant difference. Although very subtle, my pinky-ness is gone and my legs look more even toned with a healthy glow.

With flash L-R: Before and After

However, with flash, its not too noticeable of a difference. I wore this tanner before a wedding I was participating in, and with their flash photography, I was still fair and not tanned, so don't count on looking tan in flash photography.

Overall Thoughts? I think this is a nice tanner that provides a natural bronze tanned look. I like that it begins gradual and can be built up. The mitt provided is a great help in keeping hands color free, but it can also absorb too much product, thus wasting some of it. The "developed" indicator color is darker then the actual "tanned" color you see after showering. Can be a plus or minus, depending on how tanned you were expecting to be in one application. Unfortunately, I did experience a little bit of self-tanner scent, but that could be from my body chemistry. Finally, if you are expecting to be in flash photography, don't expect your tan to show up as it looks in person. In person, the tan will be more apparent then the actual flash photography pictures. Would I repurchase? No, not because it isn't good, because its a very nice product, but I would prefer to find something more affordable. For me, $37 is a lot to spend on a tanner that worked great, but not amazing for me.